Im looking to get into getting some certs finally after 15 years welding. I plan to move up the north like Alaska where welding jobs seem to be plenty. With that said I know i will need to get a 6g cert and maybe a 3g and 4g unlimited cert. My questions are would these be the best certs to get or are there better ones to have. Also i know there is a bunch of types of 6g certs out there (tig root with arc fill and cap, tig all the way, 6010 root with 7018 fill and cap etc.) but which would be the best to get. I cant really find out what is a common cert to have if you go into the pipeline industry. Any help will be much appreciated, Thank you for your time. I post some of my work to instagram, lunchboxdp if interested and feel free to like comment or follow me. Thanks again

The truth is, you do not have to be certified in anything to land most welding jobs, even on the North Slope. You have to be "qualified", and they will do that on-site, or at a lower-48 test facility they've approved. You see, you will be welding to their particular WPS(s) that may or may not have been covered in your certification test, and you will have to test to that/those standards no matter how many certifications you carry. They will want to see your product for themselves, rather than a piece of paper.

That said, having a certification or two to put on your resume' tells them you have test-proven skills and are worth the expense of testing for the qualification. The more skills you can combine (TIG root/7018 out, 6010 root/7010 out, etc.), the more marketable you are. Don't invest a fortune in certs. Maybe choose two that are diverse, to show multiple talents. Pick the ones you enjoy most and seek the jobs that require them and you'll be happier.